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Kristy H (1252 KP) rated Honey Girl in Books
Mar 4, 2021
I loved this book so much I could cry. (I did cry.) Oh Grace, my sweet, emotional girl, and oh this book. This beautiful book. Do not go into HONEY GIRL thinking it is a gimmicky read because of the Vegas marriage premise. It's a real, heart-wrenching book that will rip and tear at your soul. But don't worry, this is a good thing. Because this is a ridiculously romantic and adorable story, as well as a nuanced coming-of-age/finding yourself (hey, it can happen at twenty-eight) story.
"Have you ever gone to bed thinking of someone you only knew for a night? Have you ever stared up at the sky and wondered where it was you saw yourself, all those years ago? Which star it was you followed here?"
Rogers writes with a lyrical beauty. She gives us Grace and Yuki, two sweet, lovely, flawed, real characters whom I adored. As for Grace, I wanted nothing but good for her. I identified so much with an anxious workaholic crippled by the expectations of her parents. ("Being angry at his unattainable expectations is so much easier than accepting that the only ones I have to meet are my own." -- I think I may need to have this bronzed, as it sums up my life.) Grace struggles with the pressures placed on her by her ex-military father, by intense racism that makes it difficult to succeed in a field where she's extremely qualified, and with mental health/anxiety issues. Rogers handles all of these excellently, covering them so well in her story, along with Grace and Yuri's burgeoning relationship. It seems like it should be too much for one book, but everything fits perfectly together.
Honestly, no review of mine can do this book justice. I love the characters of Grace and Yuri and the supporting cast is excellent (and the book is diverse). It's hilarious and funny yet deftly and kindly covers mental health issues. It also takes an insightful look at racism--especially in academia--and how difficult it makes life for Grace. There's romance, friendship, family, and so much more. I loved it all, and I highly highly recommend HONEY GIRL. I cannot wait to read what Morgan Rogers writes next. 4.5+ stars.
"Have you ever gone to bed thinking of someone you only knew for a night? Have you ever stared up at the sky and wondered where it was you saw yourself, all those years ago? Which star it was you followed here?"
Rogers writes with a lyrical beauty. She gives us Grace and Yuki, two sweet, lovely, flawed, real characters whom I adored. As for Grace, I wanted nothing but good for her. I identified so much with an anxious workaholic crippled by the expectations of her parents. ("Being angry at his unattainable expectations is so much easier than accepting that the only ones I have to meet are my own." -- I think I may need to have this bronzed, as it sums up my life.) Grace struggles with the pressures placed on her by her ex-military father, by intense racism that makes it difficult to succeed in a field where she's extremely qualified, and with mental health/anxiety issues. Rogers handles all of these excellently, covering them so well in her story, along with Grace and Yuri's burgeoning relationship. It seems like it should be too much for one book, but everything fits perfectly together.
Honestly, no review of mine can do this book justice. I love the characters of Grace and Yuri and the supporting cast is excellent (and the book is diverse). It's hilarious and funny yet deftly and kindly covers mental health issues. It also takes an insightful look at racism--especially in academia--and how difficult it makes life for Grace. There's romance, friendship, family, and so much more. I loved it all, and I highly highly recommend HONEY GIRL. I cannot wait to read what Morgan Rogers writes next. 4.5+ stars.
LissaBeth21 (6 KP) rated It's All Relative: Adventures Up and Down the World’s Family Tree in Books
Jan 6, 2018
How many ways did I love this audiobook? Perhaps too many to count. The simple fact that A.J. Jacobs' voice is like a cross between modern Jews a couple of generations removed from the old country and Caroll Spinney was completely enticing to me. His narrative of his great idea and project was perfectly paced and incredibly funny. Being a big fan of genealogy shows myself, I was enticed by his insights into the process, products, and services available. I agree wholeheartedly that it is the family anecdotes, the stories and coincidences passed down through the generations that are stronger than scientific results on a print out. However, when you really get down to it, there is so little that separates us, and so much more to come that will connect us in the future. Fantastic work and a terrific book.
*＊✿❀ Maki ❀✿＊* (7 KP) rated Welcome to Night Vale in Podcasts
May 2, 2018 (Updated May 3, 2018)
amazing writing (2 more)
variety of music
Cecil Baldwin could read me the phone book
Welcome to Night Vale
I normally can't do podcasts. I'm incapable of just sitting and listening to narration.
I forced myself to listen to Night Vale.
The first episode left me intrigued. By the third, I was in love.
Night Vale fills a hole in my cold, robotic heart that I never knew was there. It's got Lovecraftian overtones, but it's so much more than that. It's a well-written, smart, progressive story that rewards you for listening to it multiple times, and for paying attention to the narrative.
Not much in Night Vale isn't made important later. It's incredible how some innocuous comment from one episode will eventually be so important to the story.
And the writing is DAMNED funny. Joseph Fink and Jeffery Cranor work well together.
I forced myself to listen to Night Vale.
The first episode left me intrigued. By the third, I was in love.
Night Vale fills a hole in my cold, robotic heart that I never knew was there. It's got Lovecraftian overtones, but it's so much more than that. It's a well-written, smart, progressive story that rewards you for listening to it multiple times, and for paying attention to the narrative.
Not much in Night Vale isn't made important later. It's incredible how some innocuous comment from one episode will eventually be so important to the story.
And the writing is DAMNED funny. Joseph Fink and Jeffery Cranor work well together.
Roxanne (13 KP) rated Thank You for Smoking in Books
Nov 14, 2018
This book was an ok read, it took me quite a while to get into it as the writing style is very different to what i'm used to. I found the story to be quite jumbled and sometimes I just had no idea which of the characters were speaking, I had to sometimes read a page a couple of times in order for it to sink in. Some of it a found quite funny but other bits I didn't really understand. The novel is very political, which probably explains why I kept losing interest (not to say it wasn't interesting at all- which is why I gave it 3 stars, I did like it, mainly because it was just different). The story had some good twists but I do believe that the ending was very unrealistic.
Elizabee (221 KP) rated Queen of Klutz (Sibby Series Book 1) in Books
Nov 22, 2019
Contains spoilers, click to show
So this series is amazing I laughed my head at at the antics that happened. The main character will make you want to scream at you book,phone what ever you read on because she seems to be blind to what happening with the guy she meets in the first chapter. The best friend is amazing I want to be her, she is a complete bitch and it's great.
Awix (3310 KP) rated The Man Who Killed Don Quixote (2018) in Movies
Mar 7, 2020
Terry Gilliam emerges victorious from his epic battle to the death with Miguel Cervantes' famous novel. Not quite the movie he famously never finished making with Johnny Depp, nearly twenty years ago, but a subtly different tale of a film director finding himself entangled in different versions of the Quixote story and, perhaps, looking for redemption.
After a slow and rambling start the film eventually becomes a charming, funny, and occasionally thrilling and moving adaptation (sort of) of the book - if it's picaresque and episodic, that's the nature of Quixote. The knowing wit and intelligence of the novel survive too. Strong performances, visually very impressive - the fact the film exists at all is remarkable, let alone that it's this good. Very reminiscent of Gilliam's movies from the 1980s: hugely imaginative, narratively chaotic, very individual, and equally easy to like.
After a slow and rambling start the film eventually becomes a charming, funny, and occasionally thrilling and moving adaptation (sort of) of the book - if it's picaresque and episodic, that's the nature of Quixote. The knowing wit and intelligence of the novel survive too. Strong performances, visually very impressive - the fact the film exists at all is remarkable, let alone that it's this good. Very reminiscent of Gilliam's movies from the 1980s: hugely imaginative, narratively chaotic, very individual, and equally easy to like.
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